There's nothing on Tom's plate (so what else is new?)

We had a bit of a scare yesterday evening when my daughter threw up immediately after finishing dinner at a hot pot 火鍋 restaurant, and then a couple of more times after we got home. A trip to the emergency room at the city hospital and an examination in the Pediatrics department, followed by a diagnosis of a stomach bug (probably brought on by the start of a cold) and some medicine being prescribed did much to alleviate our worry, as did the relatively peaceful night's sleep enjoyed by Amber last night. Once again, I was left to admire the efficiency of Taiwan's national health insurance system (in and out of the ER in under an hour, at a total cost to us of NT450 - that's $15 or ¥1280), and wonder why can't a:) more of Taiwan's social systems be run this well; and b:) America get its act together, and join the rest of the developed world in setting up a universal system of health care coverage for all its people?

I don't want to get started on the likes of Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh, not when I have the latest Tom Plate commentary on my screen at the Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ website. "Paranoids feast on China's 'peaceful rising'" is the usual Plate offering - seemingly even-handed, but lacking in-depth research and supporting facts, with a conclusion of such naivety that's hard to believe Plate has a doctorate (he's on leave from UCLA):

"Paranoid people tend to live longer, goes the old joke. And so it is in this spirit only — not out of a desire to engage in Cold War China-bashing — that we raise concerns about China. So here's the paranoid's question: Just what is China really up to? The facts are as follows. In parallel with its astonishing and commendable economic rise, China has put together new military architecture that's enough to give one shivers. Of course, the rising military syndrome is hardly unique to China. By and large, economic growth and military buildups go hand in hand."

From the beginning, Plate makes clear that he doesn't believe China's military build-up and modernization is a threat. If he did, it's doubtful that he would label those who do as being "paranoid", and engaging in "Cold War China-bashing". After all, India is doing it too, as Plate mentions in the next paragraph:

"...even India has been sharpening its sticks and buying all sorts of military stuff. And this is in the historic land of Gandhi. It is rapidly lathering on layers of military muscle as its economy continues to upsurge."

Naturally, however, Plate doesn't mention that one reason India is upgrading its military capabilities is the threat it feels is coming from China, which has been making claims on Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh, as well as being a long-time ally of India's rival, Pakistan. In fact, Plate makes no mention of Chinese claims to any other nation's territories, with one exception - Taiwan. There are no references to the Spratly Islands, the Paracels, the Senkakus 尖閣諸島 or the East China Sea 東シナ海:

"This bustling offshore island (Taiwan), in the daunting shadow of the colossus of China's mainland, is becoming more paranoid than American turkeys approaching Thanksgiving. It is particularly alarmed about the increase of short-range missiles pointed at them — now said to be close to 1,500. That's roughly one Chinese missile for every 23 square kilometers of Taiwan's turf. And while China's missile count continues to mount, tiny Taiwan's territory does not. From a paranoid's perspective, this is not restful. Thus, a recently released report from Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense 中華民國國防部 claims that China's buildup has even gotten to the point where it is capable of deterring the intervention of other foreign militaries — such as America's or Japan's — were it to go to war against the island. It must be noted that Beijing considers Taiwan an integral part of China, and from its perspective any use of force on its part would be an internal political matter, not an outside act of aggression. But legal niceties aside, the overall regional balance of military power may in fact be at the tipping point."

So by Plate's own admission, there are a lot of missiles pointed at Taiwan; Taiwan doesn't pose a threat to China; and the buildup is reaching a point where it could theoretically deter the US or Japan from coming to Taiwan's assistance. He even quotes a RAND Corporation study that pretty much says the same things. And yet, he still feels this is all paranoia:

"China's government constantly proclaims a policy of 'peaceful rising' even as it enlarges its international space economically and diplomatically. At the same time the Taiwan people have elected a government committed to peaceful negotiations with the mainland over the political future of Taiwan, specifically voting out the government that had been aggressively committed to Taiwan's formal independence. So the paranoid's question is simple: If the mainland's peaceful and bilateral relations with Taiwan are now so reasonable and promising, why is China barging ahead with its arms buildup as if there's no tomorrow?"

Yes, why? And Plate's solution?:

"...a single spark of doubt about the sincerity of China's peaceful intentions could ignite a wildfire of fear and suspicion that could unnecessarily complicate its life and return world politics to a binary state of neo-Cold War. So, how about, for starters, Beijing removing a few hundred of those missiles aimed at little Taiwan as a gesture of its true personal warmth (and aim them nowhere else)? This at least could allow some of the world's internationally oriented paranoids to finally get some rest — until the next paranoid crisis, of course."

It's all so simple, and all so unlikely to happen, of course. China's military posturing vis-a-vis Taiwan gives it great leverage (along with growing economic interdependence) in negotiations with an ever-more-amenable KMT 中國國民黨. Why would Beijing be willing to turn down the heat, when the grand prize of Taiwan is getting closer to its grasp? To quote a hoary cliche (or a Nirvana lyric), "just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they're not after you". It's almost as hard to understand why people like Tom Plate seem so trusting of China's intentions despite plenty of evidence to the contrary as it is to try and figure out why a significant number of Americans want to deny health care to a large segment of their fellow citizens. Here in Taiwan, I'm covered - by both the health insurance system and Chinese missiles!

Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear...

Today was a beauty, weather-wise, with clear blue skies and warm, pleasant temperatures. The three of used this nicest of days to take a step back into Taiwan's past by visiting an old train station dating back to the Japanese period. T'aian Station 泰安車站 on the old Mountain Route 舊山線 of the Western Railway Line 縱貫線 dates back to 1910, and was in service until 1998, when a new double-tracked Mountain Route was opened, along with a newer Taian Station. Today, the old station sits along a quiet country lane, in front of a large hill and facing old homes and rice fields.

The original wooden station building was destroyed in the 1935 Shinchiku-Taichū earthquake 1935年新竹－台中地, and was rebuilt in sturdier but less attractive concrete. There is a monument erected by the Japanese which lists the damage caused to bridges, roadbeds, stations and tunnels by the quake:

Amber enjoyed blowing bubbles, throwing rocks and walking around on the platform and tracks. I did as well, with the only disappointment lying with a signposted hiking trail, which looked promising as it headed up the forested hill behind the station. However, it soon disappeared into the underbrush as it became obvious that trail maintenance was not a high priority:

After checking out the old station (which didn't take long), we drove about five minutes to the modern T'aian Station, built on an elevated platform about five stories (I forgot to count the flights of stairs as we walked up) above the surrounding countryside. There, Amber and I waited for the train to take us back to Fengyuan 豐原, while my wife drove on ahead to meet us there. What the new station lacks in architectural charm, it makes up for in great views. Nine minutes, two stops and 15NT (45¢/¥40) later, we were back in Fengyuan at the end of a lazy Sunday afternoon, just the way the Small Faces would've wanted it:

Monkeying Around in Tak'eng

Whenever I go hiking in the Tak'eng 大坑 area, I always keep an eye out for monkeys. I've seen them on all four of the trails there, but out of all the times I've gone walking in Takeng, I've only been fortunate enough to catch sight of some of our closest relatives on six occasions. This afternoon was number six. As I was making my up the No. 1 Trail, I came across what I assume were two Formosan macaques 台灣獼猴 sitting on the railings of the wooden walkway. They beat a hasty retreat into the trees as I approached from one direction, and two other hikers neared them coming the other way. However, they didn't go very far, and sat in the trees looking at us watching them. I took a number of photos, none of which turned out very well, and after about ten minutes or so continued my ascent. As I left the scene, three young people came down the walkway and walked right past the two monkeys in the trees, without ever noticing they were there. It made me wonder how many times I had been unknowingly watched from the foliage.

As you can see from the photo on the right, some other kinds of monkey business were going on this afternoon in Takeng :)

Can I at least get an A for Effort?

This Sunday found me on the losing end of a power struggle with my mother-in-law over who would get to be with Amber. Off my daughter went with my wife and her grandmother to visit my mother-in-law's brother (would that be Amber's great uncle?) in Hsiluo 西螺, so I decided to utilize the unexpected free hours to do some walking. I had found a website detailing a country walk just outside of T'aichung 台中, so I rode off on my scooter this morning to Changhua 彰化. It took more than an hour to get there, but I found Sun Moon Farm, the start of the trail, without any trouble. The plan was to walk for a couple of hours (or eight kilometers/five miles) to reach Pakuashan 八卦山 and its famous-in-Taiwan big Buddha statue, and then return for a four-hour, 16-kilometer (10-mile) round trip. Unfortunately, things didn't quite go as planned. Though the website claimed the route was well-marked, there were actually only a few brown-colored signs indicating the way to go. At one junction, I noticed there was a painted picture of a bicycle (the road is also a bike path) with an arrow pointing to the right, so that was the way I went. This turned out to be a mistake, as the way came down out of the hills and into the suburbs of Changhua, whereupon all indications of the bicycle route disappeared, with Pakuashan being nowhere in sight. It didn't take long to realize that I had gone off track, so I reversed course and made the long walk back uphill to the junction. Continuing straight this time, I soon caught site of Pakuashan, and the backside of the 大仏, far off in the distance. However, it was getting late in the afternoon, and facing a long ride through Taichung before getting back to Fengyuan 豐原, I reluctantly turned around and walked back to my parked scooter. Despite not reaching the goal, I still was able to get in 3.5 hours of steady walking in good weather through some nice scenery, with the solitude only occasionally disturbed by a passing car, pickup or scooter (there were also a few dogs to deal with, but it's amazing what effect carrying a large stick had on them!). Pakuashan's Buddha isn't going anywhere, so I'll try this again some other weekend, hopefully with better bearings!

This red bridge had to be crossed going into and out of Changhua County 彰化縣:

The road passed by several old houses. The one in the photo on the left has been converted into a tea house. If only more traditional homes could look like this! Most, however, are more like the ones in the picture on the right:

A couple of self-portraits taken along the way:

Parts of the route were well-shaded, while other sections were more exposed:

I should have known I had ventured off-course when this was the sight that greeted me as I came down from the hills!:

More sightseeing in Taichū

Despite the glorious sunny weather, I opted to spend the early afternoon today doing a little of that ol' tourist thang in downtown T'aichung (next Tuesday I plan on hitting the trails in Tak'eng). I began by visiting the city's Confucius Temple, located on the corner of Shuangshih and Lihsing Roads.

What it lacks in history (it was only finished in 1976), Taiwan's second-largest house of Confucian worship makes up for in appearance. The architecture is impressive without being overwhelming, and the grounds offer a quiet respite from the noise and commotion of central Taichung (my wife and I even had some of our wedding photographs taken there). The complex is comprised of two large buildings. First up is the Tach'eng Hall 大成門, which houses the Confucius tablet. Unlike Buddhist and Taoist temples with their numerous god statues, there are no representations of the great sage in Confucius shrines - idolatry is verboten:

The other notable building is in the back, the Ch'ungsheng Hall, which commemorates Confucius' ancestors in the form of more tablets:

Every September 28 a ceremony is held at the shrine to honor Confucius' birthday. I've never attended because it takes place before six o'clock in the morning! Besides, I don't think Confucius himself would have approved of such things. It says something about the human condition that a figure noted for his common sense adages ends up becoming the object of quasi-religious/superstitious rites and rituals.

Next door to the Confucius Temple is Taichung's Martyrs' Shrine, formerly a shrine to Japanese soldiers and now a memorial for those who died fighting under the flag of the Republic of China 中華民國. The main hall is only open on Sundays and national holidays, and usually the rest of the grounds is closed as well, but today, for reasons unknown, it was possible to walk inside, through the main gate and up to the front hall:

From the Martyrs' Shrine, I walked north, and after paying a visit to a Catholic church (I'm an equal-opportunity tourist when it comes to visiting religious establishments), soon came to Paochueh Temple, home to the 27 meter (89-foot)-high gold-painted statue of Milefo or Putai, the Laughing Buddha.

This was one of the first places I ever visited in Taiwan, and I was impressed at the time. With each successive visit, the feeling diminishes, and not because I'm familiar with the statue. When I first came here in 1998, Milefo stood alone, and his impressive bulk could be seen from far down the street as you approached the temple, looking out over the walls. Over the years, however, Paochueh Temple has apparently adopted the theory that bigger is better. The statue now sits in the shadows of a larger hall built next door, and Milefo can't be seen until you are almost at the temple itself. But even worse, the pleasant main hall, dating from 1928, which also used to stand alone, is now in the finishing touches of being swallowed up by a mammoth "outer shell". Whereas the Confucius Temple preserves a fine sense of aesthetics, Paochueh Temple seemingly wants to destroy what made it so unique in the first place:

Paochueh Temple is on the itinerary of virtually every Japanese tour group that visits Taichung (though I didn't see any while I was there this afternoon), and not just for the obvious reason. To the left as you enter the temple through the main gate, next to the remembrance hall, is a small pavilion dedicated to those Taiwanese who died during the Second World War while fighting for the Japanese. There is also a stele nearby that, according to my Rough Guide to Taiwan, has an epitaph written on it by none other than Lee Tung-hui 李登輝, a former president of the ROC. Lee's brother was killed during the war while serving in the Imperial Japanese Navy 大日本帝国海軍:

There are a couple of other war-related memorials on the temple grounds, which serve to highlight the differences between Taiwanese and Koreans over their feelings towards their former colonial masters - it's unlikely you would find anything like these in South Korea!

Should you find yourself with a few hours to spare in central Taichung, you ought to pay a visit to the Confucius Temple, the Martyrs' Shrine (if it's open!) and Paochueh Temple. There are plenty of photo opportunities, and if you go to these places on a weekday, you'll probably have them all to yourself. 楽しみになるだろう。

In the news

I'm not ashamed to admit to being a Japanophile, but my interest in that country and its culture has never extended to anime アニメ and manga 漫画. Truth is I've never seen what all the excitement has been about (though I was impressed with "Akira" アキラ, and I can appreciate the genius of Hayao Miyazaki 宮崎駿). The younger generation in Taiwan, on the other hand, laps up all of the cartoons and comic books it can get its hands on, and now, according to the following article from Japan Today ("Realize Mobile delivers Japanese e-comics in Taiwan"), more sources of Japanese pop culture are about to be procured:

"Realize Mobile Communications, a Softbank ソフトバンク group company, has started to deliver Japanese comic titles to Far EasTone Telecommunications, the major mobile operator in Taiwan. Realize Mobile will deliver the well-known Japanese comics 'ONE PIECE', 'NARUTO' ナルト, 'DRAGON BALL' ドラゴンボール, 'DEATH NOTE', 'HANA-YORI DANGO' 花より男子 from Shūeisha 集英社, and 'HAPPY MANIA' ハッピーマニア from Shōdensha 祥伝社, among others. It is the first mobile bookstore delivering Japanese titles in Taiwan...Realize Mobile hopes to deliver mobile e-comics to other operators in Taiwan, and to provide the service to other areas in Asia, including China."

Now that this is finished, I'll get back to watching old clips from "Speed Racer" マッハGoGoGo, "Gigantor"　鉄人２８号 and "Kimba the White Lion" ジャングル大帝, among others, on YouTube.

Take me out to the ball game - 野球, Taiwan-style

Leaving things to the last minute, as usual. Last week, we went to the beach for the first time this year on what turned out to be probably the last hot day of the year. Today, we took in our first baseball game of the 2009 Chinese Professional Baseball League 中華職業棒球大聯盟 season, which not so coincidentally was also the next-to-last scheduled regular-season game to be played in T'aichung 台中 this season. "Better late than never" seems to be the Kaminoge family motto!

Following lunch at a downtown Japanese restaurant called 三木 (Miki)...

 

...and a long delay in finding a parking spot, we arrived at the old Taichung Baseball Field 台中棒球場 in the top of the second inning to find the Brother Elephants and the hometown Sinon Bulls tied 2-2. Why the Bulls continue to play there, and not at the newer, more modern Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium, is a mystery to me. Though it dates from 1935, we're not talking Fenway Park or Wrigley Field here. Instead, the Taichung Baseball Field is more reminiscent of those 1930's WPA-built stadiums still used by Appalachian League Rookie-level teams. The seats are too small, sight-lines are blocked in places, and the whole edifice reeks of decaying utilitarian concrete (plus the hot dogs were awful). Still, you're never far from the action on the field, and the crowd, though small this afternoon, was in a good mood.

I was there to support the local Bulls (and Amber also said she liked the team in white, Sinon, better than the team in yellow, Brother), but my wife has always been a fan of the T'aipei 台北-based Elephants, and so we sat along the third-base line with the other Brother supporters. Baseball games in Taiwan are similar to those in Japan in that there are organized cheering sections, but here they assemble along the first-base (home) and third-base (visitor) sides of the diamond, unlike the Japanese 応援団, which sit on opposite sides of the outfield bleachers. Amber asked us to buy her an Elephants noisemaker, and proceeded to start exploring its sonic capabilities.

It wasn't a good contest for Elephants fans. Soon after we arrived, Sinon scored seven runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to break the game wide open. Brother's pitcher, an American import named Mike Smith (formerly of the Toronto Blue Jays and Minnesota Twins), was nailed for nine runs before finally being removed. To my surprise, Amber was able to follow the score by looking at the scoreboard - not bad for someone still more than three months shy of her fourth birthday. I contented myself with a Blue Girl beer.

At the end, the scoreline read: Sinon Bulls 11 runs, 17 hits and 2 errors; Brother Elephants 5 runs, 8 hits and 3 errors. Despite all the run-scoring, the game was over in a brisk 2 hours and 42 minutes. Professional baseball in Taiwan will never be confused with the major leagues, let alone Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball 日本野球機構, and it's had to deal with far too many cases of match-fixing and gambling, but a day at the ballpark can be a lot of fun, and at NT250 ($7.75/￥700) for a ticket, it's certainly affordable. If the Bulls can move into the newer stadium, which has plenty of parking and is only a short drive from our home, perhaps we'll take Amber out to the ballgame more often next year.

 

UPDATE

Here's the report of the game from the Taipei Times:

"Seven big runs in the fourth by the Sinon Bulls erased an early deficit as they topped the Brother Elephants 11-5 at the Taichung Municipal Baseball Stadium on Sunday to deal the slumping Elephants their fifth straight loss. Starter Lin Keh-chien was the biggest beneficiary of the seven-run fourth as it gave the rookie a 7-3 lead, allowing manager Hsu Sheng-ming to keep him in the game long enough for his 10th win of the season despite Lin giving up back-to-back homers in the first. Cheng Da-hong, Chen Chih-wei and Wilton Veras (formerly of the Boston Red Sox) connected for three hits each to account for seven of the Bulls’ 11 runs."

End of the Season?

I love going to the beach, which makes it all the more inexplicable that until today, we hadn't made any trips this year to the sand and surf despite the fact we live on a relatively small island (we did try to go last week, but the rain took care of that plan). So, with the weather still hot in the daytime but noticeably starting to cool in the evenings, we made our first, and most likely last, visit to the seaside in 2009.

On this sunny Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋節 holiday, we drove for almost three hours (including time spent in a traffic jam just outside of T'aichung 台中, and a stop for lunch) to the beach of our choice, Mashakou in T'ainan County 台南縣, only to find it...closed. This didn't seem to bother my wife much, as she, like many Taiwanese (especially females), fears the sun and any hint of darkened skin (in my next life I'm going to marry either an Australian, a Hawaiian, an Okinawan or a Southern Californian - someone who actually enjoys the beach, and isn't afraid to set foot in the ocean). Seeing the disappointment on the faces of her husband and child, however, she quickly suggested driving through T'ainan city 台南市 to get to what is called "Golden Beach", which we finally reached shortly before 2:30 in the afternoon.

Golden Beach turned out to be a pleasant surprise. The sand was full of shells, much to Amber's delight, and the water was almost pristine by Taiwanese west coast standards, much to my delight. There was a lot of driftwood piled up in places (due to Typhoon Morakot 颱風莫拉克, I wonder?), but for the most part, the sand was devoid of garbage. Best of all, it wasn't crowded, with most people there belonging to what turned out to be the Taiwan Kitesurfing Center (as I learned from talking with a fellow Californian, Joe from Redondo Beach, who told me he had lived in Tainan for 19 years before moving to T'antzu 潭子, next door to us in Fengyuan 豐原, three weeks ago):

While Pamela did her best to hide from the sun, I spent the better part of two hours swimming in the Taiwan Strait 台灣海峽. Amber, meanwhile, had a blast looking for seashells, digging in the sand with her new pail and shovel and, finally, for about 30 minutes before we packed everything up to leave, joining me in the water in order to play in the waves (which were pretty small). Seeing the joy on her face was enough to make the long drive there worthwhile. It wasn't until we were walking back to the car around 5 o'clock that I noticed the big sign informing one and all, in both Chinese and English, that swimming was not allowed at Golden Beach!

So my only dip in the ocean for 2009 turned out to be an illegal one. I'll take breaking the law in this manner with my daughter anytime to sitting around a hot, smoky grill on the side of a busy road with a bunch of Taiwan Beer drinkin', Long Life cigarette smokin' おじさん. Happy Moon Festival y'all!